DA plans to reduce cabinet to 15 ministers and save R5bn a year

The DA has promised to reduce the cabinet to 15 ministers if it is voted into power after the May elections.

In its 75-page manifesto, the official opposition party says this will save the country close to R5bn annually.

"It is important to recognise that reducing the number of ministries in South Africa does not mean that we do away with essential departments of government entities," the manifesto says. "Rather, it means that we do away with unnecessary ministries, at least in principle, that were created to exercise political oversight and leadership, but have failed to do so."

During former president Thabo Mbeki’s tenure, he appointed 50 government ministers, while the number grew under the presidency of former president Jacob Zuma to 73.

The DA says that these bloated cabinets were as a result of rewarding political loyalty and patronage.

The DA says in order for it to reduce the size of the cabinet, the party must establish how it plans to reconfigure certain functions of ministries.

"However, for this to happen, we must radically rethink the shape and function of government from the top down. An essential first step in this process is reconfiguring government to create a nimble, cost-effective executive designed to maximise service delivery and tackle head-on South Africa's primary challenges: unemployment and poverty," the party says.

The ministries the DA is proposing to have are:

Economic and Enterprise

Economic Infrastructure

Finance

Basic Education

Further Education, Skills Innovation

Health and Social Development

Integrated Planning and Service Delivery

Police

Local and Provincial Government

Home Affairs

Agriculture and Land Reform

Justice and Correctional Services

Environment

Foreign Affairs

Defence

The party launched its manifesto at the 20,000 capacity Rand Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Democratic Alliance launched their manifesto on Saturday, February 23 2019, at the Rand stadium, in Johannesburg. Here are 5 points from the launch.